Black day for Real Madrid as Barcelona's renaissance under Xavi gathers pace

Real Madrid wore black shirts and black shorts, a novelty choice for a fixture whose aura has been built for more than a century around the fame and lustre of their all-white strip.

It meant that Barcelona were also in a form of clasico disguise, dressed in their ‘second’ outfit of yellow with red diagonal stripes.

After an astonishing night at the Santiago Bernabeu, the attire helped write the headlines. A dark night indeed for Madrid, 4-0 losers at home to their greatest rivals, a Barcelona who had lost the five previous clasicos, who trailed Madrid by 15 points in the Spanish table going into this, a match that will be remembered as a landmark in what looks like a Barca revival.

It may also act as a warning to Sunday’s stunned hosts not to mess with traditional kit, even if the marketing department deems it a good idea.

“We could have scored more goals, and I hadn’t expected to be that much better than Madrid,” said Barcelona’s head coach Xavi.

So utterly were Spain’s champions-elect – Madrid have a nine-point lead over second-placed Sevilla in La Liga – rolled over by the old enemy that there was genuine frustration on Xavi’s bench that all-time records for winning scorelines in an away victory in the clasico were not being challenged.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice. He might have doubled that tally had he not offered a tame save to Thibaut Courtois, busy and brilliant in the Madrid goal, in the first half or miscued his connection with Jordi’s Alba’s cross in the second.

Ferran Torres celebrates with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembele after scoring Barcelona's third goal against Real Madrid CF at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on March 20, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. Getty Images

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